Before we dive into our kitchen updates, I thought I’d show you the vision for it and where are at in the process! We are removing this tile from the island and have hired these Trusted Grand Prairie Painters to paint our kitchen island. While I love an all-white kitchen, we always wanted our island to be a little different. The tile ended up being a miscommunication error and it has been something we really don’t like. Our home is decorated in more warm tones, so this tile makes our white kitchen feel even more cool toned than it is. It almost feels like we have two separate styles going with it. I think it would look great in a modern kitchen with gray floors, but it looks quite mismatched with our style. Those who are planning to build a home addition may consider using ADU House Plans. You may also need to look into your home’s plumbing system especially if you plan to build a new bathroom or kitchen through experts who provide plumbing repairs in Clarks Summit or repiping services in Greenville, SC. For other plumbing work like drain pipe installation akron oh or hydro jetting for sewer cleaning, you would need to hire drain pipe and sewer cleaning experts such as plumber sudbury.
Our designer, Maddie, told us to try Benjamin Moore Gray Wisp or Sea Salt. While getting samples, I also picked up a few more similar ones that I thought I’d swatch and place next to our dining room fabric we purchased. I thought, “If I’m waiting here with a toddler, might as well make it worth my trip!” ha.
Paint Selections
Top Row:
Benjamin Moore Sea Salt, Benjamin Moore Gray Wisp, Valspar Taiga Spruce
Bottom Row:
Valspar Sea Salt, Valspar Phantom Forest, Valspar Comfort Gray
With the swatches dry, I sent photos to Paul and Maddie. The consensus was we liked Benjamin Moore Gray Wisp and Valspar Taiga Spruce best. I originally thought I would love Sea Salt, but it ended up being far more gray than anticipated.
I left our island like this for a week, asked friends that came over and still felt torn. The Gray Wisp matches the window treatments perfectly, but Taigra Spruce felt like it gave the space a more eclectic look. We eventually came to the conclusion, that since we are doing the entire island {not just the barstool area} it would probably weigh the room down. With our leather sofa and darker china cabinet, we didn’t necessarily need anything heavier. I was also worried about scuffs, but we can add a scuff protector to the paint so that made me feel better!
I also wanted to make a note that a reader told me! A reader painted her kitchen cabinets and used “Valspar Cabinet Enamel” and only had to wash the cabinets with soap and warm water before painting. No sanding! She said she used two coats and there were no brush marks, so I wanted to throw that option in for girls interested in painting their cabinets, too.
Vision for Kitchen
Here is what we have selected for our kitchen and dining area! We will be replacing light fixtures, painting the island, swapping out barstools and updating the dining area. We’ve been budgeting for this space for a year and it will definitely take a while to implement, but I think a vision board helps so much! I find that a vision board is a nice little added motivator when you are designing a space and budgeting for furniture. I print it out and keep it in my budget binder. I’ll think, “Do I want this or do I want my rug?” Things like at-home manicures and at-home date nights seem so small in the beginning when you are comparing, but those things add up quickly!
Our new kitchen table is probably the most “bittersweet” change that I wasn’t expecting. Our dining table was an antique my parents purchased when they first got married. It is the table I grew up eating at and when we built this home, our parents got a new table and allowed us to have theirs. I was thrilled for our family to enjoy the same table I grew up at! I remember learning to write a thank-you note at this table and couldn’t wait to do the same with Maxi. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it refinished soon enough. I made the mistake of thinking we would do it after Maxi got through her toddler years. At her half birthday party, something wet got placed on the table and it leaked through the tablecloths. It was there for about 10 hours without us noticing and so when we pulled the tablecloth up the wood had already buckled. Granted, refinishing the table or not, the wood still would have been damaged, but this just made it worse. I have never been so sad about a spill! We got a few bids on refinishing the table, but it just didn’t make sense at the time. With this being such an old antique, we didn’t want to skimp on fixing it, but it was going to cost 5x what a new table would cost. They also have to take the table for 6-7 weeks. With this being our only table, we decided that wouldn’t work. So we chose to get a more affordable kitchen table for now while we have a younger child, put our dining table in storage, get it refinished while in storage, and we can use it in a different home one day. It was a bummer, but honestly, I feel like this will be best in the long run. The dining table needs to be kept in a formal space so we aren’t as hard on it and we don’t have that in this home.
For any sourcing or designing with the board, e-mail Maddie Hughes.
But on that note, I can’t leave y’all here thinking my home is perfectly clean and always ready for guests. So here is a photo yesterday from 5:00. I went to get the mail and my child broke into the pantry {time for the baby-proof door locks!} to make it rain cereal. Can anyone else relate?! 😉
I hope you all enjoy this update post! I can’t wait to share when it is complete.
I love that last picture you included, Katey! That’s most of our homes on a daily basis alright 🙂 I can’t wait to see your completed kitchen. I know it’s going to look gorgeous! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I love where you are going with your kitchen. Can’t wait to see it when it’s completed!!
Amanda
http://www.cashmereandjeans.com
My son who is two weeks younger than Maxi made it rain donut hole crumbs in my husbands new truck on a road trip this past weekend.
I love the new changes! I see everyone with an alllll white kitchen and it’s just not my style. I like warmer tones. Loving the rug you picked. I’m excited to see your finished space to give me some inspiration since it is more my style than I see other blogs feature. Also, fully enjoy all the real life, family updates.. sorry long comment. COF READER!!
You are the sweetest!!! Thank you!! xo
I find myself looking forward to reading your posts every morning! Although I am in a different phase of life right now (my baby girls are now a senior & a freshman in high school), I laugh and get teary-eyed while reminiscing of those days with a toddler. You are doing great!!
Thank you so much, Stephanie! That means the world! 🙂 xx, Katey
Happy to see that you guys are adding color to your kitchen, as the all-white kitchen is no longer “in style”. It’s always best to stick to more traditional decor so you don’t have to keep changing it as the trends change! Great idea to go with the scuff-free paint, as you end up touching up over and over and over due to people’s shoes leaving marks on the wall! Good luck with your transformation- can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Made it rain cereal haha! Love that line. Although I’m sure it wasn’t too funny to walk into. I am loving the look of the redesign and cannot wait to see it all finished.
xo Laura Leigh
Louella Reese
I can’t wait to see how it turns out! So exciting!!
My niece likes to make it rain in tupperware. Give that girl a cabinet full of plastic bowls and lids and you’ll be finding them for days.
I love this post!! We are thinking about updating a few things on our kitchen too so this is so fun! It’s hard for me to decide if it’s “worth it” because this isn’t our forever home. I also love the real ness of the last picture. Awesome how you turned the sadness of the spill into a positive!
That’s how we feel too! It’s so hard to decide! :/ I don’t foresee us in this home when our kids are grown and so we did get a bit nervous. But the island kept driving me nuts and I thought, “Eh, I guess it helps with resale!” haha. I hope I don’t regret it! xo, Katey
Hi Katey,
I love your style. It is so unique!
Do you have any recommendations for an app or computer program for decorating? I just bought my first home and have to completely redo it cosmetically. It’s small so I’d like to play with some layouts first.
Stacey
Congratulations girl!! Try Adobe Elements! 🙂 xo, Katey
So fun to see your vision, Katey! I adore an all white kitchen! I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Hi, Katey! I love your ideas for your kitchen and dining room. I wanted to share my experience with the Schumacher Betwixt fabric – it snags! I have throw pillows on my couch and the fabric is always getting caught and they don’t look their best. I would be worried about putting in on chair seats. It’s a great fabric to add texture, but it’s not very durable. I wish I had a suggestion for another similar fabric. I love your blog. Thanks for helping to be our best self.
Hi Lisa! Thank you SO much for telling me that!! I will tell my decorator. You’re the best! xx, Katey
I wondered about your island and now this makes sense! I love your vision board!
You know you don’t like the grey, so maybe go with a very light soft pink or blush white! NO GREY……
It’s seafoam green! 🙂 Not sure why it was even called Gray Wisp, but it is green! xx, Katey
Sorry it is probably hard to tell in these photos since I have my lightroom edit on them! Here is a more accurate look: https://www.google.com/search?q=benjamin+moore+gray+wisp&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS718US718&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiFy86eq9fdAhUOTY8KHWi3BGQQ_AUIDigB&biw=1148&bih=587#imgrc=-mc9WaBawlekMM:
So glad you aren’t doing all white! I’m a southern girl, and love color!
I’ve used the same cabinet enamel by Valspar, and while it is very cleanable it chipped really easily after two coats and we didn’t have kids in that kitchen. I used a very expensive paint brush and still saw brush strokes. I also used white paint. Not sure if this is different with an actual color.
OMG that last picture looks like my afternoon today. My 1 year old keeps finding things and just making an absolute mess! Thanks for sharing the dose of reality – it’s nice to know I’m not the only mom with a mess on my hands!
That last pic is my house exactly! My daughter was born less than a week after Maxi, so I can totally relate girl. I love reading about Maxi and seeing her grow! In fact Maxi reminds me so much of my daughter, chubby cheeks, curly brown hair, big eyes…
Looking forward to seeing your kitchen’s end product! Hang in there!!
Love your ideas. This will be beautiful and messy many days at the same time. Praise God for his precious gifts of our children. They keep it REAL for us! 🙂
Love reading your blog and seeing you decorate your beautiful home. Love the rug you selected and how it ties in with everything. Would you mind sharing source for table? This is what I have been looking for. Thanks!
Hi Melanie! Thank you so much!! I’m so sorry, I don’t have the source. My designer does since she orders everything through trade. You could email her! 🙂 xx, Katey
Love the vision for you kitchen and can’t wait to see the finished result. We are in the process of moving into our first home and I finally scored the runner from Target you have in your kitchen for mine when it came back in stock for a hot second after being sold out forever. We were talking today about doing an accent wall and I think Tiga Spruce is exactly the color we are looking for. Excited to go get samples. Thanks as always for sharing with us! XO
I vote Taiga Spruce! Love the look you’re going for. We have your exact light fixtures above our kitchen island I just realized! My son is about 5 months older than Maxi and we JUST had to replace all of our barstools because he started sitting in them daily and they weren’t as sturdy as we had thought! (He has his own table and chairs but the big chairs are way cooler obviously ?) The ones you’ve picked look like they wouldn’t be a problem, just something to keep in mind ☺️ Toddlers totally dictate decor ?
Hi Katey,
Do you know the name of the hardwood you have? I’m in the process of purchasing & trying to pick out hardwood. Thanks in advance! 🙂
Hi Stacey! I’m so sorry, we do not. Because we didn’t renovate, our build process was more like, “Point to the wood you like.” haha. So I have no clue! xx, Katey